i think a lot of conservative policies wonks hope this is the sort of thing that speaker boehner will glom on to, and that obama will say look, it's not my preferred way to get 1 trillion from wealthy americans but it does get me there. it doesn't have a huge impact on the middle class and can avoid a big fight and gives up on the rate increases. i don't think obama is going to give up on the rate increases that easily because they have been so central to his--both of his political campaigns as president even though you know at the end of the day he would end up at the same revenue baseline that he's looking for. it would appear to his base he's supporters like a pretty big cave. >> eliot: i think you're right. after the strength of his commentary and since the election where increasing rates has become the mantra, the line in the sand that people expect him to toe and stay very strict on. anything that backs off from that would require extensive preparation and conversation with his base. i'm not sure he's preparing the base for that right now. added to what we're talking about right